Thanks to Christina Mavroudis on r.a.m.d for this review! Good morning: Saturday, June 8th was the Northern California Evaluation Show sponsored by Amador Valley Band Boosters in Pleasanton, CA. At 7:30 PM, after lining the fields, draining a huge water hole and filling it with sand (we could have lost a few members in that sink hole!), the Vanguard Cadets took the field. The members loved the fact the sun was setting behind them - although it didn't make the judges or spectators' job any easier. (Reminded us of the Cal State Hayward facility.) I ended up borrowing a new Vanguard baseball cap - just one of the new line of wear at the souvie trailer. The new sweat jacket is a huge hit and the kids are lovin' the surfer pants. The SCV Cadets were lead onto the field by DM Elizabeth Payne. I was able to catch the drill this time since last Saturday's Family Night was viewed quite low. This show found us moms & dads back row under the press box. Their opener begins musically with drums. The corps forms several squares across the field and then come together slightly left of the 50 into a triangle, finally exploding with the guard running through the files. The guard wears tan and burgundy and has flags using the same colors. At the end of the opener they switch to metallic blue and purple. The second piece, my favorite, is "Dance of the Comedians" which utilizes white flags with splash paint and brightly colored oversized face masks. Their ballad "Elegy" is soft and melodic. The ending piece, music from "Alexander Nefsky" by Prokofiev, could be dubbed "Phantom of the Opera Too." It's a wickedly fun piece that came from the Russian silent movie. After a brief drum feature, they drive it home with a power ending. Gutsy Award: Tenor with the injured arm. You could just see him aching to play. Mandarins show "To the Edge" has only 16 measures of 4/4 count. This according to several members I met just prior to the show. And true to their word, the show - based mostly on "Cirque du Soliel"- is a mixture of odd meters and difficult tempos. They're smaller this year with just 16 percussion (3 snare/4 bass/2 tenor/7 pit), 6 guard, and 13 horns (3 contra/5 high/5 low) but they pack a whollop of sound. Same uniform, though the guard wore what appears to be last year's WGI uniform. (dark burgandy tunics with black leggings/arm bands).The opener is jazzy & that's about all I wrote. I was really enthralled w/the music and didn't write much else down They have no drum major, but it appears that the center snare is in charge of tempo and starting them off. I find this quite amazing given the extremely difficult meters. The Cute Award: to the talented but youngish looking pit member who at one point carries out huge cymbals for a snare to cym-ride. Maybe Cute and Gutsy - those plates were huge relatively speaking. Last up were the Vanguard A corps lead on the field by last year's DM Daemon Williams. The corps, in file by twos, rides the 50 as they enter and branch out at the front of the field like water from a tap. They had several visible horn and percussion holes but have something like 52+ horns (9 contras), 7 pit, 7 snare, and well...that's all I counted 'cause they started the show. During the show, the sun went down and the back drop of orange was beautiful. The lights came on as darkness descended and the new copper cross-belts lit up like a blaze. The opener, changed since the previous week, begins with the sound of gentle waves and the swaying of musicians. This sway motif is continued throughout the show. At the end of opener, they are in company front with arm extended, horn in hand. Starting left to right, they individually raise and swing the horn in to give a wave effect. During the middle ballad, there's currently little battery used, but the basses give us a treat using their drums to continue the "wave". Which makes me think the SCV Boosters ought to start a wave in the audience every show. Maybe become sponsors for that cranberry juice: Crave the Wave? At one point the stationary musicians are circled by running guard like a ripple? The piece ends back field. Rough seas are next with a rousing drum feature in odd meter. Here the tubes are introduced. Some white tubes are set next to the timpani and are capped by small tenor drums. Two pit guys do heavy rhythms on the other tubes. The guard uses blue/copper flags. The tune, still in fast tempo fades out while a mellophone enters in slowly while the guard then reintroduces the opener flags. There's a big push to a company front - high leg lift! - and even the folks on the second floor balcony behind the stadium were clapping in a standing ovation. Since there were only going to be three corps competing in Judged Exhibition, we thought it would be a very short evening. Luckily the directors were kind enough to let us view all three again in victory concert formation at the end. That's when I ran into that Rick Sun-ToP-RAMDer guy. Behind us,a guard instructor sat crossed legged on the table in the press box furrow-browed watching the guard and gaging the effectiveness of the new flags. The corps were up a notch in musicality (of course) but it also gave us a chance to view the percussion GE in the battery. Gotta love those SCV cymbals and also the basses who have some swinging and swaying going on. Don't know what the judges thought - no announced scores - but the evening was a stunning success. Many thanks to the Amador Valley hosts. We missed you Blue Devils!
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